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Beijing/Moscow, February 17, 2025 – Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on Monday, according to Chinese state media Xinhua News.
The call, made at Moscow’s request, comes at a time of significant global diplomatic activity, with details of the discussion yet to be disclosed.
This marks the second phone call between the two leaders since US President Donald Trump assumed office last month, and it coincides with the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022. The timing underscores the continued strategic dialogue between Beijing and Moscow amid ongoing international tensions.
The conversation occurs against the backdrop of recent efforts to improve relations between Moscow and Washington. Last week, top US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia as part of discussions aimed at bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and both countries are working to re-establish functional embassies after prolonged disruptions since the onset of the war.
While the specifics of Xi and Putin’s call remain under wraps, the discussion is seen as a continuation of ongoing consultations between the two nations. Observers note that the phone call highlights the evolving diplomatic landscape, where alliances and negotiations are increasingly influenced by regional conflicts and global power shifts.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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